This Saturday night (Jan. 28) could very well be Andrei Arlovski’s last stand. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight kingpin is on a three-fight skid. A fourth loss could be detrimental to his UFC run and even his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
“The Pit Bull” has no easy task on his hands. He will go one-on-one with prospect Francis Ngannou. The “Predator” is on an eight-fight tear. In all of his professional wins, Ngannou has finished his opponent. Five have come by knockout, the other four were via submission.
During his media scrum (via MMAJunkie.com), Arlovski had a rather surprising opinion of his opponent. While many have seen the humble side of Ngannou, Arlovski has a different take:
“Except that he’s huge (and) really strong and pretty much that’s it. To me, he looks a little bit cocky. His comments, how he talks to people. It’s my personal opinion, I might be wrong.”
Regardless of his personal views, “The Pit Bull” recognizes the dangers Ngannou brings inside the Octagon. He says he’s prepared for all ranked heavyweights to be highly skilled because of his team at Jackson-Wink MMA.
“Listen, in UFC today it’s like every fighter, at least top 15, top 20 is very tough. Francis is one of them and it’s definitely gonna be a dangerous fight for me. It’s gonna be a really tough fight for me. But like I said I have a great camp, great coaches, great sparring partners, great place so I’m ready to go.”
This weekend’s UFC on FOX event will be held inside the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Taking center stage as the headliner will be women’s bantamweight action. The Ultimate Fighter season 18 winner Julianna Pena will thrown down with Valentina Shevchenko.
The co-main event showcases a welterweight fracas between Donald Cerrone and Jorge Masvidal.
